Near the Stars
by Everlasting Hello
Summary: It was just a simple wish, really. She just wanted to see him smile. Too bad she can't always get what she wishes for.


Light. The first thing Miku saw was light. She stared up at it with her wide eyes, numbly processing all the chatter around her.

"All systems functioning...Database stable...Good job, gentlemen..."

Why should she care about words when there was something so beautiful right above her? A flicker of annoyance crossed her face as something moved over her, stopping between her and the light.

"Sit up please, Miku." Her world shifted as she obeyed, and she got her first look at her surroundings. She was laying on a narrow metal bed that was covered with wires, a good many of which were plugged into her. All around her were men and women wearing white lab coats, watching her with critical eyes. The one who had come between her and the light had stepped back, but he was now standing next to the bed and looking at her intently. He had short dark hair and piercing eyes; she felt trapped under his intense gaze. He suddenly smiled and held out a hand to her.

"Welcome to the world, Miku. We are all very happy to see you."

"Your name is Miku Hatsune. You are a Vocaloid, a robot with the ability to feel human emotions. How does it feel to be the first of your kind?" The man glanced over at Miku, then back at the road. She stared down at her hands quietly.

"Miku..." she whispered. The man chuckled.

"I guess it's a little too soon to be asking questions. You must be a little overwhelmed with all that's happening." He paused for a moment, as if waiting for a response, then continued. "You're going to be living with me so that I can observe your behavior and make any adjustments that are needed. You can call me Master."

Miku's mouth twitched into a small smile. Master, huh?

"Miku, do you understand?" he asked. She nodded slowly.

"Yes...Master." The rest of the car ride was quiet after that.

Miku stared at the boy. He had messy blond hair and looked to be around fourteen years old. He was sitting in an odd looking chair, an open book lying in his lap as he slept. Master stopped next to her and frowned as he looked down at the boy.

"Miku, this is Len Kagamine. He lives with me, which also means that he'll be living with you." For a second it seemed like he was going to say something else, but then he just turned and walked away. Miku leaned over to look into the boy's face. She could feel his slow breaths on her sensitive skin as she examined him. She put two fingers under his chin and lifted it so that she could see his face better. Len made a small noise and opened his eyes.

"Wha... who are you?" he mumbled.

"Miku Hatsune," she answered blankly. Len rubbed his eyes, then looked up at her.

"Miku...?" His face suddenly brightened as he understood. "Oh! You're that robot!" She blinked as she pulled back from him.

"Yes, I am the Vocaloid." Len gave her a wide smile.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm-"

"Len Kagamine. You live in this house as well," Miku said flatly. "Master told me a little about you." Len's smile slowly faded away.

"So, did he tell you..." He frowned, unsure of what to say. Miku tilted her head to get a better look at his chair. She realized that the weird things on the sides were wheels, meaning that the boy was sitting in a wheelchair. Which meant that...

"You are crippled, yes?" Len blinked, a little startled by the sudden question.

"Yeah, I guess you could put it that way," he said as he gripped the wheels and rolled himself forward. Miku followed him out of the living room and into the hallway.

"What other way is there to say it?" she asked.

"I prefer the term 'gravity challenged'," Len said as he easily turned into a bedroom. Miku tilted her head.

"Gravity challenged?"

"Yeah, you have to fight gravity to walk," Len explained as he set the book he had been reading on a small desk. "I can't walk, so I'm challenged by gravity." Miku frowned, not exactly sure she understood this whole "gravity" concept.

"How long have you been like this?" she asked.

"I was born like this, so I'm kind of used to it by now," Len said as he turned to face her. "You sure do ask a lot of questions for a robot." Miku frowned again. Her artificial brain was getting a workout just keeping up with this boy's explanations. Len suddenly turned to her and held out a pair of headphones. "Here, put these on," he said. Miku hesitantly obeyed. Len pressed play on his CD player, and music poured into Miku's ears. Her brain raced to process the sound even as a small smile spread across her lips.

Even though their first meeting was slightly awkward, Miku soon grew to be very attached to Len. As she learned more about him, it became easier for her to talk to him. However, he still confused her quite often. Now was one of those times.

"One-sixth?" Miku tilted her head as she looked up at Len. He nodded.

"The gravity on the moon is one-sixth that of the earth's," he explained.

"Meaning...?" Miku asked.

"Meaning that you only weigh one-sixth as much as you would on earth."

"...Oh." Miku processed all this new information as she looked up at the sky. She and Len was sitting in the backyard, she on the grass with her legs stretched out in front of her and he in his wheelchair. The two of them came out here often to look at the stars and talk. Miku liked these little chats, although she sensed that Master did not approve of them. Master did not seem to approve of anything she did with Len, but he never did anything to stop them. Len's voice pulled her back out of her thoughts.

"You do understand weight, right?" Miku looked back up at him.

"Of course I understand weight. I am a girl after all." Len laughed softly. When she had first arrived Miku had been quite obsessed with her weight, and had weighed herself multiple times a day. It had taken two weeks for Len to make her understand that since she was a robot, she wasn't going to get any fatter or thinner.

"I'm just checking. I never know what you do and don't understand." Miku made a _humph__!_ sound and looked away.

"I don't know things until I learn them. You're the same way," she muttered. Len smiled.

"Oh, lighten up already! If you keep being all moody the stars will go away." Miku's head jerked towards him. She thought for a second that he was serious, then she saw the smile on his face and realized he was joking.

"Ha ha. Very funny," she muttered. The two of them were quiet for a few moments. "Len?"

"Hmm?" Len looked down at Miku as she tried to find the words to say.

"If the gravity was lighter...could you walk?" Len made a small noise as his eyes flicked from her to the ground in front of him.

"No, probably not. But when people are in space, they float around. Kind of like fish in the water. So if I was in space..." His voice trailed off, and Miku leaned forward to get a better look at him. He had a distant, almost wishful, look on his face. Miku felt a pang go through her chest.

"You would float around, and not need that chair?" After a moment, Len nodded. Then he suddenly shook his head.

"This is stupid, it's not like I'm ever going into space. I don't think crippled boys make good astronauts." He laughed lightly, but Miku felt another pang. Len almost never used the word crippled to describe himself. The way he had said it right then left a bitter taste in her mouth. Miku suddenly jumped to her feet.

"One day I'm going to go into space! And I'll take you with me so that you won't need that chair!" Len shook his head hard.

"Don't be stupid, you can't-"

"I will!" Miku yelled as she threw her arms into the air. "I'm Miku Hatsune, the first ever Vocaloid! I can do anything I want, and I want to do this for you, because you are my best friend!" Len looked down at the ground, his eyes dark with anger.

"Stop yelling, you'll tick off the neighbors. You're acting like a four year old." Miku lowered her arms slowly.

"I _will_ do it, Len. You just wait." Len looked up at her, and his eyes softened when he saw the determined look on her face. Miku kind of had the right to act childish, seeing as she was only a few months old. He didn't want to tell her that she couldn't always do what she wanted to.

"You want _what_?" Master frowned as he stared at Miku. The green-haired robot sat up straighter as she repeated herself.

"I want to go into space." She ignored the hum of voices around her as she stared intently at Master. He had taken her back to the company for a physical checkup, something that was supposed to be routine. It was proving to be anything but that.

"Miku, don't be silly. You can't seriously-"

"Actually, the idea has some merit to it." Master turned to look at the woman who had spoken.

"What?" The woman nodded sharply.

"Sending a robot into space, a robot who can think for itself? It sounds like a wonderful idea." Miku smiled at the murmur of agreement.

"I also want to take Len with me," she said. A cold silence descended on the room as Master turned to glare at her. The woman who had spoken up frowned.

"Isn't that the-"

"Yes," Master said sharply. The woman giggled.

"It seems like not every idea Miku has is a good one. I guess she's still learning." Miku frowned, a determined look coming into her eyes.

"It's not a bad idea! I think that-"

"Enough, Miku," Master snapped. He leaned closer to her and whispered, "Keep your mouth shut. We'll discuss this at home." Miku hesitated, then she pressed her lips together and looked down at her feet. She listened quietly as the people discussed her idea, the groundwork for the project being set in a matter of minutes.

Miku heard a loud crash, closely followed by Master yelling. The green-haired robot jumped up and ran to the kitchen. She stopped in the doorway, her eyes wide. Master stood with his back to her, yelling at Len. The blond boy had his hands pressed to his ears and was hunched over in his wheelchair.

"How could you be so clumsy? You're always dropping things and knocking stuff over, and I don't understand how!" Miku took a step forward and saw the shattered remains of a glass cup on the floor in front of Len's chair. There was a tense silence as Master waited for an answer, but none came. "Answer me, Len! Or are you just a stupid cripple after all?" He raised his hand as if he was going to hit Len, and Miku snapped.

"_NO!_" Master's head whipped towards her as she grabbed his arm. "Don't hit him! Even if it was his fault, you shouldn't hit him!" she screamed. Master pulled his arm free and shoved her back a step.

"Don't tell me what to do." He turned and looked at Len, then he left.

"Len?" Miku crouched down in front of his wheelchair and looked up into his face. "Len? Are you okay?" Len slowly looked up, and Miku saw that one side of his face was painfully red.

"I'm fine," he rasped. He lowered his hands from his ears and sat up straight.

"Did he hit you?" Miku asked quietly. Len didn't answer, he just wheeled over to the sink and opened the cabinet under it. "No, I'll clean this up. Don't worry about it," Miku said.

"It's my fault-"

"I'll take care of it." A determined look slid onto Miku's face, so Len decided to let her have her way. The green-haired robot quickly cleaned up the mess, then she went to find Master. He was in his room, looking over some papers. He glanced up as she came in.

"What is it?" Miku hesitated, then looked down at the floor. "If you don't have anything to say, please leave. I'm having to work on the plans for your space trip right now." Miku bit her lip. Master had quickly killed her hopes of getting to take Len into space, and she didn't want to go without him.

"I..." She glanced up at Master, and when she saw the look on his face something clicked in her electronic brain. She had seen that same expression on another face when she interrupted that person's reading. A question she had never asked was suddenly answered. "Len's your son, isn't he?" Master blinked in surprise.

"What-"

"I hadn't really though about it, but it makes sense now. You don't seem to like him very much, so the only reason that you would take care of him was if he was family. Am I right?" Master stared at her.

"Yes...How did you-"

"I'm a robot, and robots run on logic." Master shook his head slowly, then he laughed.

"You're smarter than I thought." Miku looked down at her feet as she thought about her own statement. Len being Master's son... the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. But was it really logic that had lead her to that sudden conclusion, or the "emotions" she had?

"Where is his mother?" Master's smile suddenly vanished.

"Dead," he said, his voice flat. "She died giving birth to him." Miku flinched.

"Does he know who you are?"

"If you mean does he know that I'm his dad, then the answer is yes. I made sure that he knew exactly who he was, and why his mother isn't here." Master's voice was so very bitter. Miku felt a sudden pang in her chest. The idea of Len growing up without a mom, being stuck in a wheelchair, living with a dad who blamed him for his mother's death... It all seemed like too much.

"It's not his fault," she said softly.

"Hm?"

"It's not his fault," Miku repeated, louder. "You can't blame him for what happened to his mom, or that he can't walk. It's not fair." Master looked back at his papers.

"It has to be somebody's fault," he muttered. Miku's head jerked up.

"I can't go into space," she said firmly.

"Why?" Master's voice was dangerous.

"I can't leave Len. I'm the only person he has." Master made a _tch_ sound.

"You are just a robot, you will go where we tell you to go."

"I have a choice, you can't make me."

"You will do what we say do, or we'll scrap you. Your choice." Miku blinked hard. Had Master just threatened her? She stared at him for several seconds, then bowed her head.

"Len, you need to go to bed." Len jerked and looked up at Miku. They were in the living room, Miku listening to music while Len read a book. Or, tried to read a book. He kept slowly leaning forward as he slipped towards sleep, then suddenly jerking back up in his seat. The blond quickly rubbed his eyes.

"No, I'm fine." Miku frowned.

"If you're upset about me leaving, you don't have to hide it." Tomorrow she was going to launch off, meaning that Len would be left alone again. He looked away from her.

"Why would I be upset? This will be good for you. You'll get to be surrounded by the stars and fly around. I bet you'll have a lot of fun." Miku shook her head.

"I don't want to go without you. I have a lot of fun just living with you, Len." Len glanced at her, then looked away.

"I like you being here, too." He sighed and closed his book. "Maybe I should go to bed," he said as he rolled into the hallway. Miku followed him, and when they reached his room she quickly lifted him out of his chair. "Hey, what are-"

"I'm just helping you get on your bed," she said as she gently set him down on his bed.

"Oh, um, thanks," Len said as his face darkened. Miku giggled.

"There's no need to be embarrassed. We all need help sometimes."

"Yeah, I guess. Good night, Miku."

"Good night," she said softly as she closed the door. Several minutes later, she carefully opened it again. Len's breathing was slow and calm, so she carefully slipped into the room and closed the door behind her. Miku had made sure to set him far back on his bed so that there was enough room for her. She carefully laid down beside him. A look of misery crossed her face as she listened to him breathe. She didn't want to leave him all alone. She scooted as close to him as she dared to get and closed her eyes. It felt like the longest night ever as she silently listened to his heartbeat.

A year slowly passed. A year that Miku spent up in space, surrounded by the stars. She had always loved light, ever since she had first woken up. Sometimes she wished that Master's face had never blocked that light, that he had left her alone and let her stare at it forever. Things would have been a lot less painful that way.

"Is everything all right?" Master smiled slightly as he spoke. Miku gave him a blank stare. She video-chatted with him almost every day to let him know the status of things. She didn't like having to see him everyday, especially because he wouldn't let her see Len.

"All systems are fine. The course around the Earth seems to be stable."

"Good. We're just going to have you orbit Earth for now. Maybe in a few years we'll send robots deeper into space, once we know how everything goes."

"I know this, Master. You tell me this almost every time we talk." Master frowned and looked away. "I want to come home, Master. I can't take being up here anymore," Miku said quietly.

"Miku-"

"Don't 'Miku' me!" she yelled, her voice suddenly loud. "I don't want to be here anymore! I hate it up here! I want to go home. Now!"

"This isn't up to you. We decide when you come back home," Master said firmly.

"You...you..._you_!" Miku closed her eyes and screamed. Since she was a robot, she could scream far louder and longer than any human. When the sound finally ended, her entire body was shaking. Master just stared at her. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes and met his gaze. "I want to see Len," she whispered.

"You know that isn't going to happen," Master said. Miku slapped the screen, her whole body spinning with the effort since she was in zero gravity. She was about to yell at Master again when she heard something. A person breathing, and it sounded like it was in the spaceship with her. She spun around.

"Len?" she whispered. There he was, somehow in the spaceship with her. He smiled and laughed a little, and Miku felt a pang. "Len!" She pushed towards him, reaching out a hand for him. Just when she was about to touch him, he disappeared. "No...Please..." Sadness swept through her again. Everything started going black as her hearing faded away.

"Miku? Miku, answer me!" Master grew frantic as he realized that something was wrong. "Miku! MIKU!" She floated in place, her long hair gently swirling around her as Master called for her.

"Ah!" Miku bolted up, smashing her head into the lamp hanging over her. "_Ow!_" She rubbed her forehead as she looked around. She was lying on a table in what looked to be the living room of Master's house. There was a computer next to the table, and several wires connected it to her. "Len? Master? Hello, anyone?" She heard footsteps and turned towards the sound. It was Master.

"Ah, you're finally awake. I was starting to get worried there. I won't even tell you what all we had to go through to get you home," Master said.

"Where am I?"

"You're at my house, of course. After you shut down, we had to remotely guide the ship home. I brought you here to try to fix you." Miku looked down at her hands. Home...

"Is Len here?" Her eyes were bright as she looked at Master. He made a noise and didn't answer. Miku pulled all the wires out of herself and jumped off the table. "Len! It's Miku, I'm home!"

"Miku, wait-" She ran past Master, into the hallway and to Len's room. She slammed the door open, embedding the doorknob in the wall.

"Le-" She stopped. Her eyes widened at what she saw. The room was empty. Sitting in the middle of the room was the wheelchair, with nobody in it. She slowly stepped over to it. Miku ran her fingertips over one of the wheels, feeling the fine layer of dust that stuck to her artificial skin. Master's footsteps stopped in the doorway. "Master..." Miku turned to face him. "Where is Len?" The master said nothing. "What has happened to my Len?" she asked, her voice soft.

"He's...gone."

"Gone?" Miku tilted her head.

"He died." Miku looked down at the floor, her green bangs covering her eyes.

"How?"

"He fell down the stairs into the basement a few months after you left. It was an accident." Miku's hands curled into fists.

"Liar." Her head jerked back up. "You _murderer!_ You pushed him didn't you? You killed your own son!" She started to take a step towards him, but then her legs went weak and she collapsed. Miku turned back to the chair and gripped its wheel tightly. "I'm sorry, I should have been here to protect you. I'm so sorry, Len." Her voice had dropped to a whisper again.

"Miku, I know what you're thinking, but I-"

"_LIAR! MURDERER!_" she screamed at him. "_GET AWAY FROM ME!_" She felt the world fading away again.

Opening: HATSUNE MEMORY FOLDER.

_No._

Please make a selection: ALL.

_No, Master, please don't._

Please choose an action: DELETE ALL.

_No, don't!_

Are you sure you want to do this action: YES.

_ No! Stop! I'm sorry!_

Deleting.

_I'm...sorry..._

A soft rain fell that day. It was perfect weather for a funeral. Miku looked down at the freshly placed soil. At the head of it was a tombstone. She averted her eyes from it. Even after all these years, she still refused to look at her master's real name. As she looked away, she noticed a nearby grave. She slowly walked over to it. The marker on it was much older that the one on her newly buried master's. Miku leaned down close to read it. She slowly ran her fingers over the timeworn letters. Had she seen that name before...? The marker had a small metal plate covering a photo, so she lifted it up. Underneath was a picture of a smiling boy with blond hair and wide eyes. She found herself smiling back. Miku's legs slowly lowered her to the ground. She was so tired, too tired to do this anymore. She was made to live forever, but she didn't want to.

One of Master's coworkers noticed that Miku had wandered off. She found her a short distance away, leaning against an old headstone. The robot had crashed completely, never to reboot again. She looked so peaceful in the end.

* * *

><p>AN - Well, okay then. This story was actually inspired by 16, which is a surprisingly sweet song about wanting to take someone to the moon so that their problems won't weigh on them as much. Of course, I took that idea and freaking _ran with it_, resulting in a story where a robot wants to take a crippled boy into space and everyone ends up dying. GO ME.

I actually finished this story a while back, but was too busy to sit down and edit it. BOO ME.

I don't know why Master turned out to be such a meanie, I just ended up writing him that way. As to whether or not he actually did push Len down the stairs... I'll leave that up to you to decide.


End file.
